Dinesh Rawlley, who came to Great Britain from Punjab, India, came up with the concept for Sachins (Punjabi for 'the truth') when he worked in London. With one of the top Punjab Chefs in the country - Ramash Thapial - as a mentor, Dinesh used the combination of his wealth of experience at the Kyber Restaurant and his culture for fine food as the building blocks of a business idea.

"When I was working in the Kyber I made friends with one of the customers who happened to be from Newcastle. I was toying with the idea of branching out on my own, and he advised me that the Quayside was an up and coming district for nightlife", Dinesh said. "I came up from London to have a look at the building and fell in love with it - and Newcastle - and secured the funding as quickly as I could."

Dinesh, who never had any desire to build an empire, sold the business to Bob and Neeta Arora in 2000, after deciding to spend more quality time with his partner and two children. "The restaurant was thriving with a solid reputation - about 80% of business coming from repeat custom - I felt that it was about time to take stock and really enjoy my family. I still wanted to be involved, so I agreed to stay on as Executive Chef to teach and advise where needed".

With a history of prosperity, Sachins can look forward to a future of the same - with a lot of style.